Misery

PUPPs. Such a cute little name for something so absolutely horrible. I am now more sure than ever that I will be able to get through labor and delivery without drugs because nothing could possibly be worse than this. I have never had poison ivy before but some people online have said that PUPPs is about 10x worse. Nothing really seems to help and the rash just seems to keep spreading. Here is what I have tried:

Aloe Vera with Lidocaine
Lanacane
Cortisone 10
Gold Bond
Benadryl ointment
Aveeno
Cetaphil
Palmer's

About a week ago I did start putting some Triamcinolon 0.1% steroid cream on the part that had been itching the worst - my stretch marks - 2x per day. That has actually helped a bit, but it took at least 5 days before I noticed a difference. The Gold Bond helps temporarily by making my skin feel cool, and ice packs help too. But now that I have these little bumps everywhere - under my boobs, the inside of my arms, my sides, my back... I can't put ice packs everywhere! Dr. H said I shouldn't put the steroid cream all over my body either because you don't want to absorb a lot of it. So I've rotated that to my next worst itchy spots which are the insides of my arms and wrists.

Last night I got about 2 hours of sleep and then woke up itching like crazy and just started sobbing in despair. Finally Eric and I got up and went on a 2am adventure trying to find a store open where I could get some Benadryl tablets so at least I could get a little sleep. After taking the Benadryl I did finally get to sleep for a few hours, but I hated the way it made me feel and I'm pretty sure it put the baby to sleep too. He didn't move nearly as much during the night and this morning as I am used to. Dr. H did recommend it to help me sleep though, so I guess it can't be that bad. Another thing I am trying is Dandelion Root. A lot of people online have said that it has been the miracle cure for them. It takes about 5 days to work though and I just started taking it on Friday, so we'll see. I'm willing to try anything at this point.

It is so frustrating to be this uncomfortable. I knew I would probably be uncomfortable the last few weeks of pregnancy, but I just thought it would be because I was big and swollen, and tired. This is so much worse. I just want this to be a happy and joyful time in my life and it's so not. My focus has changed from wanting to have this baby so I can hug him and see his little face to wanting to have this baby so I can stop itching (or at least have a distraction from it). Yuck!